


Handle With Care

by XpaperplaneX



Series: Toy 'Verse [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon, Brain Injury, Friendship, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-17
Updated: 2011-02-05
Packaged: 2017-10-17 22:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/181972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XpaperplaneX/pseuds/XpaperplaneX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud had no idea how his life would change on the day he was sent to deliver some papers to the former general Sephiroth's office. A mistaken identity turns his world upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Toy

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a crackfic based on the amusing warnings tag that came with the Tonberry plushy Square Enix forced me to buy (at cutepoint, which is like gunpoint, but cuter). It's not. Well, it's still based on the tag, but it turned out rather serious. It's complete and will be four chapters long, although I do plan on writing a sequel for it eventually. After I've gotten back to work on PoW...
> 
> Anyways, this is more a friendship fic, but Cloud and Sephiroth have a rather weird relationship and it will probably evolve into a romantic relationship in the sequel. Cloud is fifteen in it, however, so if you're worried about that, feel free to PM me and I'll give you more details if you want them.

Sephiroth froze as the door swung shut behind him. There was someone in his office. There was _never_ anyone in his office. Not anymore. Not since Nibelheim. Not since they all started treating him differently. It was a little thing, quite a lot smaller than him, with spiky yellow hair. He tilted his head to the side, pondering why it might be there.

"Sir?"

Nobody called him 'sir' anymore, either. It was wearing a uniform: shorts and a button-up shirt with a Shin-Ra logo on it. He couldn't quite recall which uniform that was. Maybe it wasn't actually a uniform.

"Sir, I'm supposed to give this to you." It held out a small stack of papers, but Sephiroth ignored them as something else fluttered to the floor. He knew what the stack was anyways; he could always remember that: orders and more questions from the science department.

Bending to pick up the fallen scrap, Sephiroth turned it over and read it carefully.

 _Shin-Ra Merchandising Division  
Chocobo Toy  
FOR AGES THREE YEARS AND UP_

"Chocobo..." Sephiroth said out loud, glancing up at the... toy? It looked a bit like a chocobo. And toys weren't always exactly the same as the real life things they were based on. The stiff cardboard was folded in half, so he opened it up and looked at what was inside.

 _ **Warning:** Please read before use.  
_

  *  _Handle with care and avoid damaging this product in any way.  
_
  *  _Keep away from fire. Failure to do so may cause product deformation or fire.  
_
  *  _Discolouration will occur if product is submitted to licking or biting.  
_
  *  _Keep away from direct sunlight, store in a cool, dry place.  
_
  *  _Contains small parts. Be careful to avoid swallowing them.  
_
  *  _DO NOT let children under the recommended age play with this product.  
_
  *  _For safety, do not use if broken or damaged.  
_
  *  _Keep wrapping material away from children to avoid risk of accidents.  
_
  *  _Do not wash._



"They sent me a toy?" He _was_ awfully lonely lately. Maybe one of his old friends wanted to give him something. Zack would do something like that. Zack still talked to him – a lot more than Genesis and Angeal did – though he was still... well, it didn't matter. Zack might have noticed that he was lonely.

"Sir?" A hesitant voice interrupted his thoughts and Sephiroth looked up. It was still holding out the papers from the science department, but Sephiroth didn't care about that. He had a toy. It could talk and everything. He took the papers and tossed them on his desk, reaching out to touch the chocobo's head. It held still as Sephiroth stroked its hair, though a frown crossed its face. "Sir? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine now, Chocobo," Sephiroth murmured, still petting his toy's head. "I'll take good care of you."

"I – My – I'm not – My name's Cloud."

Sephiroth furrowed his brow. Maybe there was something wrong with its voice? Well, it did look like the finest technology Shin-Ra had to offer, but some bugs were to be expected with technology like this. It wasn't damaged. They couldn't take it away. "Cloud... okay. I'll call you Cloud. Go sit down on the couch, Cloud, and wait a moment for me."

The chocobo blinked at him a few times, and looked like it was going to say something else, but then turned and obediently sat down where it was told. That was good; it could follow instructions. Sephiroth was still holding the warnings tag in his hand and wondered where he should put it so it wouldn't get lost. There was a string going through a hole in the card... he bent down and tied it around the chocobo's wrist, smiling at his ingenuity. He nodded his approval and turned to gather his things up. He wasn't allowed to carry Masamune when he wasn't on a mission anymore, but it was winter, so he had his coat and scarf. And those science department papers. Filling out the daily quizzes they sent him was a mind-numbing task. It could wait until tomorrow, he decided. For now, he had a new toy.

"Let's go, Choco—Cloud," Sephiroth said, holding out his hand.

Cloud looked at him curiously, but reached out and took his hand without hesitation. "Where are we going, sir?"

"Home."

"You want me to go with you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Sephiroth opened his office door and ushered Cloud out.

"Lotta reasons, according to everyone," Cloud whispered so quietly that Sephiroth barely caught it.

He paused and turned to face his toy, a frown creasing his forehead, his head slightly tilted to one side. It looked so sad... "I don't like people," he stated simply. "They make me sad too. You can be happy with me." With that, he tugged on Cloud's hand again and pulled it towards the elevators. He felt Cloud give his hand a tight squeeze back as it followed.

***

Frowning, Sephiroth studied the label once again, while Cloud sat patiently with a blanket wrapped around it. They weren't very detailed instructions for such a complex toy. _Obviously_ he shouldn't set it on fire, but what _should_ he do? They hadn't said anything about how Cloud would get cold when they went outside. He had nearly had a heart attack when it started shaking all over.

"I'm fine, sir, really. The wind was just really cold and, well, shorts aren't the best winter clothes ever. I dunno why they make us wear them. Thanks for giving me your coat, though."

"Are you _sure_ you're warm enough?" Sephiroth asked. He didn't want to turn the heat up too much, since the instructions said to store it in a cool place, but obviously it didn't handle cold well. Maybe the instructions were wrong. He wouldn't put it past Shin-Ra – even the merchandising division couldn't be trusted. He needed to be extra careful with Cloud; if he damaged it they'd probably take it away and never let him have another.

"I'm sure. Nice and warm now." Cloud reached out of the blanket and patted his knee.

Sephiroth nodded, feeling slightly reassured. Hopefully it would know if it was damaged. He paused... surely a toy this detailed wouldn't be genderless, yet he kept referring to Cloud as 'it'. "Are you a boy or a girl?" he asked.

"I – I'm a boy!" Cloud sat up straight and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Okay, just wondered." Quick as a flash, Sephiroth leaned over and licked Cloud's cheek.

"Wha—what are you doing?"

"Checking. You do discolour," Sephiroth said, pointing at the bright red hue that was now tinting Cloud's face. "It didn't say to _not_ lick or bite you," he pointed out defensively when Cloud looked like he was going to protest. "It just said that you would discolour if I did. But look, you're already turning back to normal. That's good."

Cloud brought his hand up to his face and stared at Sephiroth with his mouth hanging open. "You licked me!"

Sephiroth shrugged. "I wanted to know. Look, I can do it again." He leapt, moving far faster than Cloud could ever hope to manage, and licked up the other side of his face. "See? Red again!"

His toy squirmed and hid his face under the blanket. "Quit it!"

Sephiroth stilled completely and he could have sworn his heart shuddered to a stop as well. "Did I damage you?"

"What?" His Cloud's face appeared from behind the blanket, still discoloured. "No. No, I'm not damaged. Umm... I guess it's just a little weird for you to lick me, that's all. You didn't do anything wrong."

The breath he had been holding in escaped with a woosh. "Are you sure? I don't want to damage you. It didn't say I couldn't, but I don't think the instructions are very good."

Cloud looked at the tag around his wrist, frowning again. "I – I think you're right. These aren't very good instructions. I think I would be damaged if you bit me."

Sephiroth nodded quickly, wanting to reassure his toy that he was a good owner. "I won't bite you, then."

The toy smiled up at him. "Okay. Thank you." He looked down again, discolouring slightly. "Licking doesn't damage me, though. Just... don't do it all the time."

That was good. Licking Cloud was fun. Sephiroth reached out and stroked his hair. He was pleasantly surprised when Cloud leaned into his touch. "How are you powered? The tag doesn't say anything about batteries."

"Um, I eat food."

"Just like a person," Sephiroth murmured, liking the feel of Cloud's hair. So soft.

"Yeah... like a person. I need to eat as often as a person, too."

"Okay, I can do that." Thinking about food made Sephiroth realise that he was hungry, so he told Cloud to stay and went to order his evening meal.

The catering company person seemed surprised when he said he wanted enough for two people, but said it wasn't a problem. That was good. People always yelled at him if he went to the store to shop; they wanted him to use the delivery service, but he could never think of what he wanted when he tried to order, so he rarely had any groceries in the apartment. He liked the store because it had everything on the shelves where he could see it. It was easier that way, so he didn't understand why it was such a big problem. Sighing, Sephiroth returned to the living room to check on Cloud. At least he was able to feed him. That was what was important.

Holding Cloud while he waited for the food to arrive was pleasant. It had been so long since he'd had the chance to even be near anyone, let alone touch them. Even if Cloud was just a toy, he was warm and soft and the perfect size to cuddle up with. It was disappointing when the doorbell rang and he was forced to get up; he wouldn't have bothered if Cloud hadn't said he needed to eat.

Sephiroth eyed his toy as he set the food down on the table. Would Cloud be able to feed himself, or did he need to be fed? He would have thought that a toy would need to be fed, but Cloud was awfully high-tech. On the other hand, if he fed him, he'd be able to have Cloud sit on his lap again while he did so. He placed everything down at one end of the table while keeping an eye on Cloud to watch his reaction. Cloud seemed to be able to react to everything, so that was an important thing to watch.

Cloud seemed... nervous, maybe, when Sephiroth sat down and patted his lap.

"I can feed myself, you know," he said softly. "Do you still want me to sit on your lap?"

"I – I guess you don't have to." Sephiroth glanced around and pulled a second chair over. "Will you still sit next to me?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure. It's probably just a lot easier if I'm not in your lap." Cloud smiled brilliantly at him; whoever had designed the toy's face had done a wonderful job. There was so much detail.

Dinner was a simple steak and potatoes affair, but Cloud seemed to really like it, which pleased Sephiroth. When they were done eating, Sephiroth reached over and rubbed his hand over Cloud's stomach area, smiling when he felt it protruding slightly. He had fed him, taken good care of him; he was doing a good job, despite the bad instructions.

"Can I hold you again?"

"Yeah, I guess, if you want. I... I'm going to have to get back to the barracks soon though..."

"No," Sephiroth said, scooping Cloud up and carrying him over to the couch, "That's all right. I'll keep you here." He sat with his chocobo curled up on his lap and patted his head. Cloud didn't need to go anywhere; he could take proper care of him here.

Cloud sat quietly on his lap, just letting Sephiroth pet him for several hours, until he finally yawned widely. "Sir? I'm tired. I should –"

"Okay. We can go to bed." Sephiroth stood, carrying Cloud with him to the bedroom.

Cloud's head shot up from off his shoulder where it had been resting and his eyes were as wide as saucers. "Um..."

"Do you sleep in those?"

"I – I have – have pyjamas, but not – I – barracks..."

"You can wear these, then." Sephiroth pulled a pair of his lounge pants out of a drawer. They tied at the waist, so they wouldn't fall off, even if they were big. He sat Cloud down on the bed and stripped his shirt and shorts off, pausing a moment to stare at what had been underneath the wrappings. He hadn't expected that level of detail. Cloud's voice seemed to have gone wrong again – he was just making sounds now – but that seemed to just be a temporary glitch sometimes. It wasn't a problem. He reached out to touch, wanting to take a better look at what was between Cloud's legs, when a hand smacked his away.

"Don't!"

Sephiroth pulled his hand back even further. "Damage?"

"Um... ye—yes, you'll damage me. Can – can I please have the pants?" Cloud was shaking again and Sephiroth quickly handed him the pants.

"I'm sorry, it didn't say anything about – I won't damage you – I won't. Are you cold again?"

Cloud hastily pulled on the pants as he stammered, "N—no, it's just – you just – you scared me a little, that's all. I – I didn't think you'd take off all my clothes like that. And – and I didn't expect... _that_."

Cloud was upset, Sephiroth could tell that easily, but he had no idea how to fix it. Frantic, he rummaged through his drawers again and found a t-shirt. He held it out cautiously, too scared to risk touching his toy again. "Here."

Cloud snatched the shirt up and pulled it over his head. "Th—thank you."

"Does your voice go strange like that because you're upset?" he asked, as Cloud seemed to be calming down.

"Um, yeah, I think so."

"Okay. I'll pay more attention next time. I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't even think that I _could_ scare you. You didn't act frightened of me like people do."

"People are scared of you?" Cloud asked, reaching out a small hand to touch Sephiroth's face.

"I think so..." Sephiroth turned away to look for his own pyjamas. If he could frighten a toy like that, of _course_ people would be afraid of him too. No wonder Angeal and Genesis went away.

"Hey..." There was a shuffling sound behind him and a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. "You don't scare me. You startled me, that's all. And you stopped when I told you to. That's what's really important, isn't it? So don't feel bad."

"I don't scare you?"

"Nope. You confuse me a lot, but that's okay. Just... hands above the waist, all right?"

"All right. Hands above the waist." He could remember that rule.

***

"Sephiroth, the scie—what the hell?" Zack paused in the doorway. What the hell was a kid in oversized pyjamas doing sitting on Sephiroth's lap? "What's going on, Sephiroth? Who is that?" He slowly stepped into the room, not wanting to startle Sephiroth and risk the kid getting hurt.

"This is my toy," Sephiroth said, gently stroking the kid's head while keeping what looked like a firm grip around his waist.

"Sephi—" Zack changed his mind and moved slowly over to the chair. The boy didn't look terribly upset, but he didn't look terribly happy, either, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "Hey, what's your name, kid?"

The blond glanced up at Sephiroth before answering. "Cloud, sir. Cloud Strife."

"Shit, you're that AWOL cadet... Have you been, um, with him? This entire time?"

Strife nodded slowly. "Since yesterday afternoon."

"Okay, um... are you hurt?"

"I didn't damage him!" Sephiroth yelled, pulling the cadet closer to him and trying to hide him from Zack with his body. "I followed the instructions! I didn't damage him! You can't take him away!"

"I – I'm fine, I think. He hasn't hurt me. This is just a bit weird."

"All right. Sephiroth, you need to let him go, okay? You can't keep –"

"NO! He's _mine_!" Sephiroth stood, shuffling the cadet so he was holding him with one arm, and glared violently at Zack. "You people took _everything_ from me and now you're giving me things and just taking them away again? I've taken really good care of him. You can't just take him away like that!" Sephiroth was pacing the small room, sword arm twitching, as he yelled. Even though he was unarmed, the former general could still do a lot of damage, so Zack reluctantly decided to back off for now, lest the kid get caught in the crossfire.

"All right, all right. No one's going to take him away. Just calm down, okay? Don't hurt him."

Sephiroth came to a halt midstride. "Did I damage you?" he asked.

"No." Strife's voice was shaking a little; he was clearly frightened. "I'm not damaged, but can we sit down again?"

Sephiroth nodded and took a step towards his chair. He stopped and glared at Zack distrustfully. "Move," he snarled, holding Strife protectively, like he thought Zack would try and snatch him out of his arms. Not that he wouldn't if he thought he had a decent chance of getting away with it. Instead he backed away towards the door.

He watched as Sephiroth sat back down and rearranged Strife so he was in pretty much the same position as before, and then went back to petting his head. He tried to catch the kid's eye, let him know that he wasn't abandoning him, but he didn't think he noticed. He walked backwards out of the office, then turned and ran for the elevators.

***

"Sir!" Zack burst into Director Lazard's office, not bothering to knock on the door after ignoring his secretary. "Sir, I found that AWOL cadet. Sephiroth's kidnapped him."

"Kidnapped?"

Zack cringed inwardly at that voice, but turned sharply towards it and snapped a salute at President Shinra. "Yes, sir. He's had the cadet with him since yesterday afternoon, apparently. I tried to get him to let him go, but he became upset and I was worried he'd hurt Strife. He's not acting rationally; he called Strife his new toy."

"Was the cadet hurt at all?" Lazard asked, shuffling through a stack of papers. "Is he in immediate danger?"

"I don't think so. I talked to him a little bit before Sephiroth flew off the handle and he said he hadn't been hurt. And he seemed to get Sephiroth to calm down again before I left."

"Well, what's the problem then?" Shinra asked, laughing. "We've got to keep our weapons happy, don't we?"

"Sir, with all due respect, there's a very scared human being down there who can't get away. We need to send someone in to sedate Sephiroth and take Strife out of there."

Lazard had paused with a folder in his hands, frowning. "I think Fair is right, sir."

"Nonsense, do you have any idea how much it would cost us? Not to mention the damage the loon would cause when he figures out we've taken his 'toy' away. Always take the path of least resistance; that's just good business sense."

Zack sputtered, he couldn't _believe_ what the president was saying! He wanted to just sacrifice a _kid_ to save a few gil?

"Sir," Lazard said, looking at the contents of the folder, "Strife is fifteen years old. We'd be... I mean, who knows what Sephiroth might do to him?"

"You wouldn't be so blasé if it was your own son who had been kidnapped, would you?" Zack pleaded, but Shinra just rounded on him with narrowed eyes.

"Watch yourself, Fair. The kid is not my son. End of discussion. I'll go tell Sephiroth the happy news myself."

Zack snarled at the president's back. He was really just going to let Sephiroth keep a _person_ as a toy! As soon as the elevator door closed, Zack turned on Lazard. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with this company and that man!?"

"I know. I know. Look, I can't knowingly let you disobey his orders and I'd rather not lose you to a bullet from the Turks, so there's not a lot we can do. But I'll give you free reign to do what you can to protect the kid. Just, don't try and go against Shinra."

"So what am I supposed to do? Tell Sephiroth to please not rape his new toy? Would he even realise if Strife's telling him 'no'?" Zack flailed his arms helplessly.

"Just, try and think of something, please? I don't like this any more than you do, but we're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"All right, all right. I'll – I'll go try talking to them both again." Zack shuffled over to the elevator, at a loss as to how he could help without making Sephiroth let him go. "I should have taken the risk and gotten him out of there."

"You know that would have been extremely dangerous for him. Don't fault yourself for not being able to guess just how much humanity the old bastard is missing. I don't think anyone would have thought he'd be that cruel."

***

Zack held his arms up where Sephiroth would be able to see them clearly, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. He flinched as he saw Sephiroth tighten his grip on the visibly upset cadet into what looked like a bone-crushing hold.

"Out," Sephiroth snarled. "Shinra said I could keep him."

"I know, I'm not here to take him away, I promise." Zack stayed where he was, fighting the urge to yell at Sephiroth to stop squeezing so tightly.

"Too tight – you're going to damage me, sir," Strife whimpered.

Zack's jaw dropped at the effect those words had on Sephiroth. He loosened his grip so much that Strife nearly fell out of his lap. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Sephiroth began stroking Strife's hair and crooning at him. "I was worried he'd take you away."

"I'm not going anywhere... am I?" Strife turned and looked at Zack.

"No..." Zack said apologetically, unable to bring himself to explain why they wouldn't help him. "He's really worried about damaging you, huh?"

Strife nodded and held out his wrist, while Sephiroth seemed to be off in his own little world, murmuring apologies and promises that he wouldn't do it again. "These are the care instructions he's following. They're not very good, though."

Zack crept closer and took a look at the tag tied around the kid's wrist. It was a damn toy label! No shit, they weren't very good! "How...?"

"The others in my bunk... they left it – the toy, that is – on my bed as a joke. I ripped the label off and I think it must've stuck to my uniform. It fell on the floor yesterday when I was delivering some papers here and he noticed it."

Throwing a quick glance up at Sephiroth to make sure he still wasn't paying attention, Zack scooted a little closer and lowered his voice. He had an idea. "I can't get you out of here, but I think I can help, as long as you don't mind playing along with the toy thing."

Cloud nodded, looking relieved that he wasn't going to be completely abandoned.

"Sephiroth," Zack said, standing up straight, "Cloud showed me his instructions, and I don't think those are the right ones. I'm going to go down to see the merchandising guys and try and find the right ones for you, okay?"

Sephiroth stopped muttering and looked at Zack. "Thank you, Fair. That would be most helpful. These are almost completely useless. It's been quite difficult trying to figure out what I should do."

Zack almost laughed out loud when Strife cleared his throat and tapped the last line on the card meaningfully. _Do not wash_. Poor kid, he rather doubted Sephiroth had even let him wash his hands. "I'll see if he's got any accessories too, like different outfits or something. In the meantime, to avoid damaging him, make sure you listen to everything he says. I hear that these toys really know if something's going to damage them."

"I will," Sephiroth said firmly. "I've been very careful about trying to remember what will damage him. Biting, touching below the waist, squeezing too tightly... that's all so far, right?"

"Right," Strife whispered. He had blushed furiously when Sephiroth listed them off. Zack was afraid to ask how biting and touching below the waist had come up, but he was incredibly relieved that Strife had apparently said 'no' and that Sephiroth had listened. He just had to make sure that Sephiroth knew that he had to _keep_ listening. Strife was pointing at his card again, at the third line. "I think this was a mistake. I told him that licking won't damage me, but biting will."

"Okay, I'll make sure they fix that." Zack supposed that while Strife was probably uncomfortable with being licked, he had most likely made some concessions to avoid upsetting Sephiroth. And they probably couldn't go back on what had already been decided. Sephiroth didn't really _get_ things like people changing their minds anymore. Toys changing their minds would probably be even more difficult for him to understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I had something else to write here...


	2. Rules of Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, you guys are amazing. Chapter one got a whopping fifty-four reviews across the places it's posted. Fifty-five, if you count the one from my mom. That was totally unexpected and I'm so happy everyone liked it so much. I think I even replied to everyone I could reply to, which is rather shockingly on the ballish. I was impressed with myself.
> 
> Oh! I remembered what I was going to say last time, and that was that I was trying out a new style with this story. I wrote each scene in one go, with whoever's point of view I thought would tell the story best in that scene. It actually worked pretty well for me. My goal for HWC was to do more than a one-shot, but not something stupid long, either. It ended up being a ways over 16,000 words, so that's not too bad. Though I may have failed a bit due to really wanting to do a sequel, ah well.

"Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth paused in petting Cloud. "Yes?"

"Can... can I get up? I need to go to the bathroom and my neck is getting stiff."

He didn't frown; no one could say that was a frown, but he wished that Cloud didn't insist on moving so often. He was comfy with him, here on the couch. But he was supposed to listen to what Cloud said... and a stiff neck might lead to damage. He figured that was just one of the drawbacks of having such a realistic toy. If it were less real, he wouldn't be as nice to hold. "Will you come back?"

"Yes, Sephiroth, I'll come back, don't worry."

Cloud was barely gone a minute when the doorbell rang, causing Sephiroth to start. Why would the doorbell ring? The catering people had already come with the evening meal, he was sure of it. Cloud had had to remind him that he needed to be fed; he remembered feeling incredibly guilty that he had forgotten. He got up cautiously and went to the door, hesitating, with his hand over the doorknob.

"Sephiroth? Who is it?"

"I don't know. No one's supposed to come."

"Well, why don't we open it and see?"

"I..."

"We could shout and demand whoever's there to identify themselves."

"It's Zack, Sephiroth. Let me in," the muffled voice trailed through the closed door. "I've got your manual."

Sephiroth yanked on the door, cursing when it wouldn't open, then feeling a bit silly when Cloud reached over and unlocked it for him. "You got it?" he asked excitedly as soon as he had it open.

"Yep, and I've got a few things I need to explain to you as well. Can I come in?" Zack was holding a decent-sized stack of papers and Sephiroth could see the words 'Cloud the Chocobo toy' and 'Owner's Manual' written on them.

He opened the door wide and motioned for Zack to come in. He couldn't wait to see the proper instructions. No more guessing.

***

Cloud peered over Sephiroth's shoulder at the instructions that looked like they were still warm from the printer. Sephiroth was holding them like they were some sort of holy book, glancing back and forth between the papers and Zack, waiting for him to start talking. Cloud could hardly wait for him to start talking either, hoping against hope that he had come up with _something_ to make him a little less scared.

"Okay." Zack rubbed his hands together nervously. "First thing's first, damn, are you ever lucky, Sephiroth. Cloud is a _brand new_ , not even technically available yet, top-of-the-line toy. Unfortunately, because he's _so_ new, even the manual isn't complete. Now, this one is the third edition, but there'll be more coming out soon. You see, the merchandising guys needed someone to test out their new toy, and they thought you'd be up to the task."

Cloud glanced up at Sephiroth, who seemed to be hanging on to Zack's every word. He really hoped that Zack was going somewhere with this.

"They picked me?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yup. But in order for them to be able to let you keep your Cloud, you're going to need to help them out. See, they don't know everything they should put in the manual, so they need you and Cloud to work together, and figure out what sort of instructions are necessary."

"Like what?"

"Well, like you know how you guys figured out that biting will damage him? Stuff like that. Clouds know what will damage them, but they can't really think of it until it comes up. So it's hard for them to just make a list of all the things that shouldn't be allowed. Understand?"

"Like shopping..." Sephiroth said, nodding.

"Shopping?" Cloud asked, feeling comfortable enough to speak up.

"It's hard... thinking of stuff, unless I can see it. So I'm not very good at ordering."

"I see. Is that why you don't have any groceries?"

Sephiroth nodded and Cloud frowned. Was that why Sephiroth got _all_ his meals from that catering company? Because he _couldn't_ order groceries? Why didn't Shin-Ra have someone helping him?

"Yeah," Zack said, jumping back into the conversation, "It's a lot like that, I think. So they gave me these awesome notebooks and pens." Zack held up two matching notebooks and pens, with 'Shin-Ra Merchandising Division' splashed all over them. "You both need to write down anything you think should be added to the manual, or any mistakes you find in it. Think you can do that?"

"Yes," Sephiroth said, looking determined.

"All right, then." Zack handed over a notebook and pen to each of them, flashing a wink at Cloud as he did so. "Next up, damage."

Cloud felt Sephiroth stiffen and his whole body seemed to quiver in anticipation of what Zack was about to say.

"There's absolutely no negotiating about this, Sephiroth. Cloud is a _very_ expensive toy, and if you damage him, there will be _no_ replacement. Understand?"

"Yes."

"That means that you _always_ have to listen to him, and if he says that something will damage him, you need to stop. Right away. Okay?"

Sephiroth nodded vigorously. "Okay. I will, I promise."

"Good. I knew you would."

"What about..." Cloud hesitated, this could be tricky to phrase right, but he didn't want Sephiroth going into a panic over tiny things. "What about like... if I bang my knee or fall or something? I can be repaired for little things like that, can't I?"

"Good point..." Zack got out a notebook of his own and scribbled something down. "I think you're right. Minor physical damage, caused by accident, can be repaired. But something like not following rule number one, that can't be repaired and will result in permanent damage and Cloud will have to be taken away."

"Rule number one?" Sephiroth asked.

"Open up the manual and take a look at the second page."

Sephiroth did so, and Cloud scooted closer so he could take a look too. One look at the rule that was written in large enough font to take up the entire page had him fighting the urge to fly across the room and kiss Zack.

 _If your Cloud does not want to play, forcing it to do so will cause it to become severely damaged._

"This is a very important rule," Sephiroth muttered under his breath, his finger tracing along underneath the words over and over again.

"The _most_ important rule. It supersedes all the other rules, so make sure you _never_ forget it."

"I won't," Sephiroth said, a serious look on his face. "So, even if another rule says something different..."

"If Cloud says 'no', you can't do it without damaging him."

"Okay. I understand."

Cloud could barely contain his sigh of relief; the way Zack had phrased it meant he pretty much had veto rights over anything. Since Sephiroth thought he was a toy, technically, anything he wanted to do with him could be considered playing. Suddenly, this whole situation wasn't looking so terrible. Sure, he had pretty much been kidnapped, but at least he didn't have to go to drill in the morning.

"The next pages have the rest of the instructions," Zack prompted.

Sephiroth went over the first page one more time, and then turned the page. Cloud couldn't help but giggle at the first point: _Do not machine wash. For best results, hand wash daily in warm, soapy water. Because your Cloud interacts with its environment constantly, its hands should be washed on a regular basis throughout the day._ He supposed that Zack had needed to rework everything that had been on the original tag in order to keep things easier for Sephiroth.

  *  _Feed your Cloud three nutritious meals a day. Additional snacks are also acceptable._



Cloud grabbed his notebook and wrote: _The Cloud has a built-in timer that can remind its owner when it needs feeding._ Sephiroth seemed to forget about things like eating sometimes, but he didn't need to feel guilty about not realising Cloud was hungry. It wasn't exactly hard to give him a reminder. Cloud was beginning to wonder how Sephiroth was managing without help. He seemed to have so much trouble focusing on anything.

  *  _Your Cloud needs a minimum of eight hours of recharge time per night._



Yeah, and hopefully now he could feel safe enough to actually _sleep_ instead of lying awake all night, trying to not cry and wake up Sephiroth.

  *  _Submitting your Cloud to biting will cause damage. Licking will cause your Cloud to temporarily discolour. Excessive licking has the potential to cause damage, however, so listen to your Cloud's instructions when submitting it to licking._



Cloud nodded to himself; he could live with that. Sephiroth licking him hadn't been horrible, and if he could tell him to stop after a few times, that would be all right.

  *  _Your Cloud functions best at room temperature. If you are planning to expose it to higher or lower temperatures, please wrap it accordingly. Your Cloud will inform you if the temperature exceeds its tolerance levels.  
_
 _
  * Do not overexpose to direct sunlight. Special protection is available for Clouds if they are going to be in direct sunlight for an extended period of time.  

  * Fresh air and daily exercise keeps your Cloud in top condition. 
_


"Basically, Sephiroth, you should treat and care for Cloud like you would a person. Merchandising put a lot of effort into making him as realistic as possible. Take advantage of that and don't treat him like a fragile doll. Just trust him to know what will and won't damage him."

"I'll try. About the person thing. And I'll trust him. I will. I'll listen to what he says. But I'm glad for the instructions."

"Yeah, we don't want you flying blind here, that wouldn't be very good for either of you."

"What about accessories?" Sephiroth asked. "My clothing is too large for him and what he came with is inadequate for this weather."

"Ah, we're working on that. You'll have them by tomorrow evening."

"All right. He can wear my clothes until then. They should have given him better basic wrappings," Sephiroth said with a disapproving frown.

"Yeah, that was a stupid oversight. He was supposed to be released in the summer, so he had the standard summer uniform, but the release was delayed while they worked out some bugs."

Cloud grumbled quietly, "Summer uniform, my ass." They had to wear those things year-round to toughen them up.

"Sephiroth, would it be all right with you if I talked to Cloud alone tomorrow? You are bringing him into the office with you, right?"

"I was planning to..." Sephiroth narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why do you want to talk to him alone?"

"There are some questions that merchandising wanted me to ask him about his basic system operations, but they need to be kept private for security reasons," Zack explained.

"I guess that would be all right, then."

"Good. Thank you. I'll leave you alone then and let you go over the manual on your own. And if you've got any questions, you can give me a call, okay?"

"Okay." Sephiroth hoisted Cloud up and carried him with him as he got up to let Zack out. Cloud supposed he'd have to get used to being carried and held all the time. It was just so weird...

"Remember, he needs exercise. You can carry him, but not all the time," Zack said as he pulled is boots on.

"Right..." Sephiroth reluctantly set Cloud down, still holding him close. "I just like holding him."

"I know, bud." Zack clapped his hand gently on Sephiroth's shoulder. "I get that, and you can, just not all the time. Good night, guys." Zack looked Cloud in the eyes then, seeming to be searching for something.

Cloud gave him a genuine smile and mouthed the words 'I'm okay' at him. He _was_. As long as Sephiroth listened to the first rule, he'd be fine.

***

Sephiroth sat back down on the couch and Cloud followed him, not sitting as close as he had been, though. "I should wash you," Sephiroth muttered, looking at the instructions again. 'Do not machine wash' and 'do not wash' weren't even remotely close to the same meanings. Who had written the little tag? That was just irresponsible. He hadn't let Cloud wash at all, in trying to follow the instructions, figuring that water would damage him. Now, apparently, he had been neglecting to care for Cloud properly. It was frustrating.

"I can –" Cloud looked at the washing instructions and sighed. "Yeah, I guess that would be a good idea."

"The bathtub would probably be best; I don't think you'll fit in the sink. I'll go run it." Sephiroth left Cloud sitting on the couch and went to fill the bathtub. He also found a clean pair of pyjamas that Cloud could wear and got out a couple towels, feeling proud that he was remembering all these things. What else did he need for a bath? If Cloud was like a person, shampoo would probably be a good thing to use. He set it down on the edge of the tub and checked the temperature of the water. It seemed about right, so he went to get Cloud.

"It's... it's not going to damage you, right? I have to take off your clothes to give you a bath properly." Cloud seemed nervous when he sat him down on the counter and Sephiroth was feeling a bit worried after last night.

"No... I guess not. But, um, I'll wash below my waist, okay? I can do that."

"Right... no touching. Okay." Sephiroth pulled off Cloud's shirt and pants and lifted him up and set him in the water. "Is the temperature okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine, but let's turn the tap off. It's spilling over."

Right... he should have done that before. Sephiroth reached over and shut the tap off. There wasn't too much water on the floor. That was okay. He suddenly realised that Cloud was discoloured; his whole face was red.

"Are you sure it's not too hot?" he asked, worried.

"No, it's fine. Can... can we get this over with?"

"Okay." Sephiroth sat down on the edge of the tub, put one hand behind Cloud's head, and pushed him backwards with the other. He was very careful as he got Cloud's hair wet, then sat him back up. The water trickled down Cloud's smooth skin... it was so beautiful... so much detail... Sephiroth felt warmth pooling in his groin and he shifted slightly, just staring, until the sound of a throat being cleared jerked him out of his daze. He turned away and grabbed the shampoo bottle, doling some out and starting to work it through Cloud's hair. Cloud helpfully tilted his head back and shut his eyes; he knew shampoo hurt when he got it in his eyes, maybe it would damage Cloud too. He didn't want to find out.

He carefully rinsed it out and figured conditioner would be nice to use as well. It smelled so pretty; it would be nice if Cloud's hair smelled that pretty. He left the conditioner in Cloud's hair and grabbed a washcloth and the body wash, then began rubbing down Cloud's chest and arms. He took his time, wanting to make sure he did a good job. Cloud made a squeaking noise when Sephiroth picked him up and set him on the edge of the tub so he could wash him without the soap getting rinsed away. He got his upper half all soaped up, then hesitated a moment before holding out the cloth to Cloud.

"No touching below the waist."

"Thank you. Could... could you look away?"

Sephiroth frowned. "I need to make sure you can do it properly," he explained.

"Oh... I see..."

He wasn't sure why Cloud was hesitating. He wasn't going to touch, but he wasn't sure that Cloud could really wash himself. The instructions had said he had to do it. He didn't like instructions that contradicted each other. So he watched carefully as Cloud stood and washed his lower half. He seemed to do a good job, however, and Sephiroth nodded when Cloud asked in a shaky voice if he could sit back down in the tub.

"Good chocobo," he said quietly before he tilted Cloud back again to rinse him off. "You're very good at washing yourself."

He pulled the drain on the tub and gave Cloud one towel, so he could dry his lower half, and took the other one himself. It seemed like Cloud's hair would take a little while to dry, so he toweled all the excess water off of it and then left it. He dressed Cloud in the clean pyjamas and smiled at the nice, fresh-looking toy standing before him. He was a good owner. He sat with Cloud for half an hour or so, until his hair dried, then tucked him in and snuggled up next to him in bed. Being able to hold Cloud was his favourite part of having a toy.

***

Cloud was sitting on Sephiroth's lap again, still dressed in oversized pyjamas – though they were different from yesterday's – when Zack poked his head in Sephiroth's office door the next morning. He hadn't knocked, wanting to see if he could see how Sephiroth acted when no one else was around. They were leaning over Sephiroth's desk, looking at a piece of paper.

"These are really stupid questions," Cloud was saying.

"I don't like having to fill them out every day, but everyone gets mad if I don't."

"Well, at least they're multiple choice... I don't suppose you've ever tried just picking answers at random?"

"Probably not the best idea, Cloud," Zack said, startling both of them. "Sorry. The science department uses them to monitor Sephiroth's mental state and if you accidentally mark off that voices are telling him to kill everyone... well..."

Cloud looked disgruntled at that and leaned back against Sephiroth's chest. "They never considered, oh, I dunno, _talking to him_ to figure these things out?"

"I guess not..." Zack shuffled his feet, feeling guilty. He was starting to get the impression that Sephiroth had been feeling really abandoned since he got out of the hospital. It felt rather like a kick to the teeth to have to have a kid Sephiroth kidnapped – probably out of sheer loneliness – point it out. He just... didn't know how to act around him anymore. The general he had known and looked up to was gone and what was left was... Zack gave his head a shake; he had other things to worry about today. "Sephiroth, is it all right if I talk to Cloud alone now?"

Sephiroth frowned and stroked Cloud's hair a few times while he seemed to consider it. "You really have to?"

"Don't worry," Cloud said softly, "I'm sure it won't take long and then I'll come right back. Why don't you work on these questions while I'm gone and we'll take a break when I get back?"

"All right." Sephiroth lifted Cloud up and set him on his feet. "Just... come back."

"I will. Promise." Cloud followed him out of the office and Zack saw Sephiroth pick up a pen and start working as he shut the door.

"Let's go to my office. I'm Zack, by the way. We didn't really get much of an introduction." Zack turned down one of the smaller halls and led Cloud to his office, trying to hide him from the stares of the SOLDIERs they passed.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Cloud looked so young when he sat down in the visitor's chair. He was swimming in the pyjamas Sephiroth had given him and the oversized chair made him look even smaller.

"Just Zack is fine. Listen, um, how are you doing?"

"All right."

"Cloud, please, I need you to tell me the truth. I'll do the best I can to help you."

"Really, I'm fine. Sephiroth's treated me well; the instructions have helped a lot. He's so afraid of me being taken away, he won't do anything to hurt me, I'm sure. I think he's just lonely."

"Yeah, I got that impression. All right, Cloud, I'm going to level with you, you're Sephiroth's type and I'm wondering what to do about that."

"What do you mean?" Cloud didn't look particularly shocked that Sephiroth might be attracted to him, just curious.

"Well, that's up to you. I've got two ideas, the first is that I'll tell him that you're – Gaia, I'm sorry for referring to you like this – that you're not meant for sexual purposes and that using you like that will damage you. A friend of mine came up with the other option, in the event that you think you might be interested in a romantic relationship in the future. He suggested that we tell Sephiroth that, um, Clouds go through an adjustment phase when they get an owner. At the end of the phase, you'll decide whether or not you want to... you know, engage in, let's call it 'sexual play' with your owner."

"So during the adjustment phase..."

"He's not allowed to touch you or you'll be damaged. And I think that we can convince him that you're new enough that no one knows how long the adjustment phase is, so you'd be able to take as long as you want."

"What friend?"

"Huh?"

"Who was the friend that came up with the idea? I mean, I probably wouldn't know, I guess I'm just wondering how many people know about this."

"His name's Reno; he helped with come up with the instructions. Other than him, it's just me, Director Lazard, and the amoral bastard who know, though I'm sure it won't stay that way for long if he keeps bringing you to the office. I know this sucks Odin's hairy balls –"

"It's not that bad. It's kind of nice to be wanted."

Zack barely stopped himself from letting out a disbelieving snort. What kind of life had this kid had where being kidnapped by a crazy person was 'kind of nice'? "Still," Zack said patiently, "It's a lot to ask of someone. Especially since you're so young. Cloud, if you do choose to have a sexual relationship with him, there'll be no going back. I know you should be allowed to make mistakes and experiment, but with Sephiroth... he's not going to understand that."

"But if I decide to go with the adjustment phase idea, I'll be able to say that I don't ever want to, right?"

"Right."

"Let's do that, then. I'll take my time and think about it. I'm not _sure_ I like guys, but it's not a definite 'no' either."

Zack nodded, hoping Cloud was mature enough to not do something stupid that he'd regret later. "So you're sure things are okay? He's feeding you? Letting you sleep? Not doing anything inappropriate?"

"Yeah, he's doing a good job. He's not that bad, really, you've just got to remind him about things sometimes. I think you screwed up wording the washing thing, though. He thinks _he_ has to wash me."

Zack thought back to the way he had phrased it... shit. He had been thinking of how things were phrased on toy labels and must have forgotten to change it enough so it was clear that Cloud could do things like that. "Shit, I'm sorry. Did he...?"

"He gave me a bath. I insisted that I could wash below my waist, but he insisted on watching to make sure. But, in his defence, that's all it felt like. Like he was making sure I did it right."

"I am so, so sorry. I'll make sure I get things right next time. But you didn't feel like he was molesting you at all?"

"No. It was embarrassing, but that's all. Speaking of which, I want you to add something about Clouds needing private time. Like, an hour a day, preferably broken up however I want it, that I can be alone. And put in something about how I can remind him about things like eating. He forgets sometimes. Just say that one of my functions is a reminder system so he doesn't feel guilty."

"Um, sure," Zack said, a little surprised at the sudden confidence in Cloud's voice. He was glad that it was there; it was just unexpected for someone who had, up until two days ago, been a cadet. They tended to not give orders to firsts.

"Good. Is that all? I should get back to him before he worries too much."

"Yeah, I'll walk you back and explain to him about the adjustment phase. Oh, hey, I think I got everything from your bunk; I'll bring it by tonight along with some civvies I got for you."

"That'd be good. I'm a bit tired of tripping over the bottoms of these. Guess it's good he carries me most of the time. At least he had a spare toothbrush I could use. Oh, I want to take him grocery shopping since he has _no_ food in his apartment. Does he have cash or a credit card? I don't have much gil."

Zack paused and thought a moment. He really had no clue; surely Shin-Ra was still paying him... that little knot of guilt in his stomach kept growing larger. Sephiroth was lonely enough to kidnap someone, he apparently forgot about eating regularly enough for Cloud to think it was a common occurrence, and now he was realising that he had no clue how his friend was supporting himself. Some friend he was. "I'll ask him. If he doesn't, I'll get you the cash you need. Thanks for doing this for him."

" _Someone_ has to," Cloud said with a pointed glare.


	3. It's What Good Toys Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all pointless rambling. Thank you again to everyone who reviewed. I still can't quite believe the response this has gotten, but I'm incredibly happy! I've been all inspired to work on the sequel and wrote about a million words yesterday. I'm thinking that some of those words ought to have been the paper I'm supposed to write on my exchange, which was due like two weeks ago, but ah well. This chapter's a bit short. I thought I had divided them up pretty evenly, but I have been known to have trouble counting to two depending on the time of day, so I suppose it's to be expected. But there's some backstory in this chapter, so that should totally make up for it.
> 
> The last chapter will be up at some point on Sunday (or Saturday for those of you in North America land), unless I have a panic attack and haven't packed at all, in which case, it may end up waiting until after I get home. Hopefully not though, because tin cans fall out of the sky like tin cans full of rocks. All the time. Gravity's a bitch like that. But I have moose legwarmers, so assuming I survive flying, I won't get tasered in Vancouver because no one but a proper English-speaking Canadian would wear moose legwarmers. (My mom says I can't wear a note saying that I can easily be taken in a fight, so there's no need for tasering. She's no fun at all.)

Cloud grabbed a cart and Sephiroth's hand as they walked into the grocery store, not wanting to lose him. Not that he'd be hard to find, but still. "So what do you feel like having for dinner tonight? I can cook just about anything, though I may have to find a recipe."

"I... I don't know. I'm supposed to order."

"Yeah, I know, but don't you get sick of having pretty much the same meal every night?"

"I do get sick of it, but..."

"Don't worry, you won't get in trouble. Cooking is one of my functions. Why don't we take a look around and see if anything catches your eye?"

"All right." Sephiroth smiled at him and squeezed his hand. They perused the aisles; it turned out that a lot of things caught Sephiroth's eye, but he never got upset about being told to put things back. He did let Sephiroth get a few treats; how long had it been since anyone had let him have a chocolate bar? He doubted those ever came with the catered meals.

When Sephiroth came to a dead stop at a small crate of ridiculously overpriced apples, Cloud tried to just usher him along, but he refused to move.

"Are these special apples?" he asked. They did look weird, kind of purplish and white. Cloud wasn't quite sure he would want to eat an apple that colour.

"Dumbapples."

"Is that what they're called?" Cloud was getting a bit worried now; Sephiroth looked like he was about to cry.

"They liked them. We always used to eat them together. There was a story one of the fanclubs ran. It was all made up, but... I read it now sometimes. If I think about it hard enough, I can almost believe it was true."

"Who are _they_?" Cloud picked up Sephiroth's arm and draped it over his shoulder, giving him a hug.

"A—Angeal and Genesis. They're gone now."

Cloud had heard of them. Angeal was stationed in Fort Condor and Genesis was assigned to Junon. For people like them, with money and access to transportation, that was hardly _gone_. "Are they your friends?" He would have rather asked if they _were_ his friends.

"Yeah. Best friends. Until... they don't visit anymore."

"You've got me now, Sephiroth. You're not alone. Let's keep looking. Why don't we get some oranges? Those look nice."

"I like oranges."

"Okay, then. Let's get some of those." Cloud grabbed a big bag and put them in the cart. "What else...? How about we have hamburgers tonight? Bet the catering company doesn't do those very often."

"No, I don't remember ever having hamburgers from them. Can they have lots of barbeque sauce?"

"Sure thing!" Cloud said cheerfully, glad he had successfully distracted Sephiroth from the unpleasant memories of his friends who apparently abandoned him. He needed to find out more about that, but he didn't want to force Sephiroth to talk about it, especially not in the middle of a store.

***

"I should tell you, I've never actually _made_ hamburgers from scratch before," Cloud said as he shook some paprika onto the beef, hoping it wasn't too much. "I've only ever watched, um, people make them." He supposed toys didn't have mothers; it would only cause confusion to bring up his.

Sephiroth grunted, barely looking up from the onion Cloud had set him to chopping. He was doing a good job of it; if Cloud gave him instructions, he followed them to the letter. All Cloud had to do was make sure he had a cutting board and the right knife. That wasn't hard.

"Well, even if they're terrible, if we add enough sauce, we won't taste them. Do you like cheese on top?"

"Yes!"

"All right, we'll do cheeseburgers." Cloud nearly giggled as he realised that he was in General Sephiroth's kitchen, cooking cheeseburgers for him. Well, he wasn't a general anymore, but...

Cloud didn't know the details of what had happened to him, but he knew that it happened in Nibelheim. The three famous firsts and a few lower ranked SOLDIERs had come into town to deal with a problem they were having with monsters coming from the reactor near town. He had been in such awe of them. They marched through town with their huge swords and billowing coats, exuding nothing but pure confidence in their abilities. They had laughed and joked amongst themselves while Cloud had watched from the sidelines. It seemed so long ago now, but it was only... what? A year and a half or so ago?

A few days had passed before the fighting began. Talk was all over town about how the SOLDIERs were fighting amongst themselves, arguing over what to do about something they had found in the reactor. A few days after that and they were leaving. Only Sephiroth wasn't with them. He had watched from behind the water tower as the SOLDIERs left, hoping for one last glimpse of the Silver General. Cloud found out later that Sephiroth had been evacuated on a medical helicopter. There was never anything in the news about him after that, only Angeal and Genesis, so Cloud had figured he had died. It had come as a huge surprise when he got to Midgar and learned that his idol was still alive. And now... now he was making sure Sephiroth had the blade of the knife pointing down when he started chopping. What had made him change?

Not that it mattered. The Sephiroth here and now needed him. That made him feel pretty special.

Cloud slapped his last patty down on the plate and found a big frying pan under the stove. "All right, let's get cooking! Can you slice up some cheese for me?"

"Sure." Sephiroth nodded eagerly, looking excited about the prospect of a home-cooked meal. To tell the truth, Cloud was too. The catered stuff Sephiroth had was definitely better than the cafeteria food cadets ate, but it still couldn't beat something fresh off the stove.

"There's scissors here, Sephiroth," Cloud said, seeing that Sephiroth was trying to open the cheese package with a knife. "And I saw you had a cheese slicer; I love those things. Make it so much easier."

Sephiroth looked a bit surprised to find the knife in his hand, but set it down and got the scissors. He looked rather lost after he got it open, so Cloud grabbed the slicer out of the drawer for him.

Cloud tried to prod a little bit more information out of Sephiroth while they ate, but it was tough keeping him focused on a conversation when he was devouring hamburgers like he hadn't eaten in a week. Apparently they had turned out all right. So he waited until after they had cleaned up the dishes and were settled on the couch, in Sephiroth's favourite spot for him, to ask him more.

"So what kind of stuff are you doing for Shin-Ra now? You've got your papers from the science department – ugh. What else do you do?" Cloud was snuggled up in Sephiroth's arms, feeling rather warm and safe.

"I go on missions. Only ever in the city or in the outskirts. Never long ones. I fight monsters that attack Midgar."

"Wow, that's pretty neat. But... where's your sword, then?"

"They took Masamune away," Sephiroth said, sounding a bit like he was saying they had taken his child away. "They give her to me right before I start my missions and take her away again when I'm done. Same with materia."

"They don't trust you..." What _hadn't_ Shin-Ra taken away from him? He supposed it should be counted as a blessing that he still had a roof over his head.

"I – I don't think so."

"Well, they trusted you enough to give me to you, that's something."

"Yeah, I'm happy they did that." Sephiroth smiled, then leaned over and licked Cloud on the cheek.

"Hey!" Cloud laughed as he felt himself blush. That was probably never going to get old. "I'm happy they did too, but enough licking!"

Sephiroth pouted at him, but went back to petting his hair.

"So what else do you do?"

"I... I have to fight programs in the training room a lot. To gather data, they say. It's fun."

"Good. That's nice that you get to have fun. Do you ever work with other people?" Cloud asked that knowing that he probably already knew the answer, and that it would probably hurt Sephiroth to have to say it, but he needed to know for sure.

"No," Sephiroth said flatly.

So he spent his entire life either in his office, his apartment, or fighting, all of it alone. How could Shin-Ra just throw him away like this? It wasn't right. Sephiroth was their hero; he made Shin-Ra into what it was and now they had just tossed him aside. Cloud sighed and pressed himself closer to Sephiroth's chest. "I'll help get things sorted out for you, sir. That's what good toys do." Cloud wasn't sure if he had even said it loud enough for Sephiroth to hear, but he was squeezed a bit tighter and heard a soft sniffle.

***

Cloud spun around in Sephiroth's big office chair, feeling bored and lonely. It was hard to believe that three weeks had passed since Sephiroth adopted him as his toy. It seemed like such a short time, and yet, it felt like they had been together for ages. Version seven of the Cloud the Chocobo manual was lying on the desk where Sephiroth had left it after being called out for a mission in the slums. This one was all just minor updates; they had all the big issues sorted out by version five, but Zack was still really good about checking in on them and making sure things were all right. The manuals were even beginning to look like proper product manuals now, not just a stack of papers stapled together.

"Ugh. Come back quickly, Sephiroth," Cloud whined, dropping his head down on the desk. It had been weird at first, always having someone in his personal space when he was so used to there being no one, but now he couldn't stand it when Sephiroth was gone. He wished he was feeling brave enough to go down to the break room to grab a cup of coffee, at least, but it sounded pretty busy out there. The SOLDIERs were obnoxious when he was alone. Zack had told them that he and Sephiroth weren't having sex – or rather that he wasn't getting fucked by Sephiroth, because of course they thought that no one would _choose_ to sleep with him – Cloud shook his head in disgust at their ignorance. It hadn't made a difference, though, and the rumours and teasing persisted.

It was only to be expected, he supposed. What else _would_ people think about some scrawny kid being carried around constantly, always sitting on Sephiroth's lap, getting petted and fawned over. They really thought he was just a toy, and a sex toy at that.

Cloud angrily kicked the desk leg, cursing when he stubbed his toe. Why was he brooding over the _only_ problem in his life? He didn't need their approval and he could get by just fine without their respect. He knew without a doubt that when Sephiroth came barreling down the hallway, arms wide open, ready to scoop him up into a hug, that he was where he belonged. He couldn't ask for anything more.

With that thought firmly in mind, he decided it wouldn't hurt to see if he could organise some of Sephiroth's paperwork for him. It was such a mess. He sorted through stacks of requisition forms, paystubs, memos, orders, bills, bank statements, and personnel files, separating them into their own individual piles. He separated the personal things from the company things and used different coloured folders that he found in the bottom of a filing cabinet. The newest bills, which had the overdue payments from the older bills helpfully included, got put in their own pile, and Cloud made a note to ask Sephiroth for his chequebook when he got back. Hopefully Sephiroth had enough money. He hadn't really given much thought to Sephiroth's financial situation; everything they bought was paid for in cash, and once a week they stopped at the cash point on the first floor of headquarters.

Cloud grabbed the bank statement pile and looked over them; there was money going in once a month from Shin-Ra Inc., and usually four withdrawals, one every Monday. And, Cloud frowned, there were sporadic transfers out of the account that just said 'private transaction'. Sephiroth didn't do online transfers – cash was easiest for him, and apparently none of his bills were set up for automatic payments. It wasn't chump change, either; those withdrawals were seriously cutting into Sephiroth's balance.

Frowning, Cloud reached for the paystubs; he hadn't really looked at them, but could have sworn that the amount on them had been higher than what was going into Sephiroth's account. "Those fucking bastards," Cloud breathed as he compared the numbers. Everything that was being taken out for taxes and pension was listed, along with his net pay, which was significantly higher than what was actually going into Sephiroth's account.

Cloud gathered up all his evidence, seething with rage, and marched towards the office door. He dodged just in time as it was flung open and nearly dropped the papers as Sephiroth scooped him up, squeezing him tightly.

"I'm back!"

Cloud hugged him back, putting aside his anger for the moment. "Hi! How was your mission?"

"Went great, and I got to come back early! I missed you."

"I missed you too. It's lonely here without you to keep me company. But, Sephiroth, can you give me a few minutes? I need to go talk to Director Lazard right away, and then I'll come back and you can tell me all about your mission. Is that all right? It's really important."

"Okay. Is something wrong? You're not damaged, are you?" Sephiroth gently set him down, looking worried.

"No, I'm fine. I promise. There's just something I've got to get sorted out."

"Okay, Lazard is in the briefing room, I think."

"Thanks." Cloud smiled up at Sephiroth and gave him another hug before heading towards the briefing room. One glance at the papers in his hands was all it took to get his blood boiling again and he barged into the room without a care for who was already in there.

Three men in second class uniforms and a handful of thirds tried to protest as Cloud interrupted their briefing, but he ignored them and marched straight for Lazard, slamming the papers down on the table in front of him.

"Care to explain what the hell this is?"

"Cloud, I'm a little busy –"

"Shin-Ra is stealing from him! Shin-Ra's leeching money off his paycheque and someone's transferring funds from his account. Just because he doesn't notice doesn't give you the right to steal from him!"

"Cloud, what are you –"

"The evidence is right here. Look, here's what he's supposed to be getting every month. Here's what _actually_ goes into his account. There's a _twenty thousand_ gil difference! And Sephiroth only ever uses cash; these are his transactions here. But these," Cloud pointed at the mystery transactions, "These aren't him. Any automatic payments would have a company name and I _know_ he didn't do any banking that night because we were watching horror movies all night. Someone is stealing his money and it's not a stretch to say it's someone in Shin-Ra. And it stops right fucking now, Lazard."

"I'll look into it, Cloud, see what's going on. I'll get it to stop."

"No," Cloud hissed, " _I'll_ get it to stop. _You'll_ get back what was taken from him."

"Cloud, I can't –"

"Why is Cloud upset?" Sephiroth's voice could have caused the windows to freeze over as the door swooshed shut behind him.

"You can," Cloud threatened. "And if you can't, you can find someone who can, because I don't think Sephiroth will be happy if you continue to make me upset." He took Sephiroth's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I want Sephiroth's _entire_ salary given to him as a cheque from now on. I see no reason for him to keep a Shin-Ra bank account when someone else obviously has access to it. I'll give you copies of all his paperwork so you can work out just how much he's owed."

The SOLDIERs who had been in the meeting were staring, slack-jawed, at him as Cloud turned and gave Sephiroth's hand a tug. There was also a big crowd gathered outside the door; apparently he had been loud. Well, they had deserved it. Just when he had thought that Shin-Ra couldn't treat Sephiroth any worse, it turned out that they were stealing from him as well.

"Did you..." Sephiroth hesitantly broke the silence after they returned to the office. "Did you get angry because of me?"

"I got angry because of how they were treating you," Cloud said gently. "They're stealing money from you. Money that you work really hard to earn. I couldn't let it continue." Cloud climbed up onto Sephiroth's lap and snuggled in close. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I never noticed. I always had enough."

But not enough to save anything, and he wouldn't put it past Shin-Ra to just not let him have a pension. They planned keep him fighting for them until it killed him, Cloud was sure of it. "Don't worry, I'll get it all sorted out. I'll tell Lazard you're not coming in tomorrow and we can go to the bank and close the account you've got, and then open up a new one with Midgar Financial or something. I'll get your bills sorted out too; some of them are looking pretty angry."

"Thank you. I never thought you'd be able to help me with stuff like that. I'm not so good at it anymore."

"No worries, I can do just about anything my owner needs me to. Although everything's pretty much new to me, so I'm still learning. But we can muddle our way through. We'll help each other out."


	4. Ends and Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost died writing the last half of this chapter. Just so you know. I had to keep typing to prevent my fingers from freezing and falling off. Waiting for trains on the platform in winter for three hours sucks.
> 
> Anyways, this is the final chapter of Handle With Care. Yay! I finished something! There's no eta on the sequel, but I'm working on it and it's coming along really well, I think, so it shouldn't be long before I can start posting it. I leave Japan tomorrow, and I'm giving myself a week to get over the jetlag and trauma from flying, then it's back to work.

Cloud jerked out of his doze when the noise outside their office suddenly increased. He rubbed his eyes and yawned widely, wondering what was going on, but too sleepy to bother getting up. Sephiroth was really good about making sure he was in bed for eight hours, but their routine usually meant that Sephiroth took a shower after he gave Cloud his bath and put him to bed. He could never get to sleep until Sephiroth came to bed too. So he took naps while Sephiroth did his paperwork; he was focusing well enough now that he could get it all done on his own.

From the shouting, it sounded like someone had come back, probably from a long mission. "Wonder who it is," Cloud mumbled, reaching for his cold cup of coffee.

"I don't know. Do you want to go look?" Sephiroth asked, setting his pen down.

"You just want a break from your work." Cloud grinned. "Let's go."

Someone knocked at the door just as Sephiroth was gathering Cloud up, and he paused. "Come in."

The door opened and Cloud froze, arms wrapped around Sephiroth's neck. A man with bright red hair and a long red coat, much like Sephiroth's black one was standing in the doorway. A bigger man in a normal first class uniform with a massive sword strapped to his back was slightly behind him. What were _they_ doing here?

"Genesis? Angeal?" Sephiroth sounded like he didn't quite believe what he was seeing. "What are you doing here?"

Genesis shot a weird look at Cloud, who squeezed Sephiroth a little tighter and narrowed his eyes at the pair as they waltzed in. "We managed to arrange our leave so we were off at the same time," Genesis said airily. "Zack's been bugging Angeal to come see you, so here we are. Who's the kid?"

"This is Cloud," Sephiroth said proudly, stroking Cloud's hair, "He's my toy. Cloud the Chocobo Toy. Merchandising gave him specially to me to test out."

Cloud flushed with anger as Genesis snorted derisively, barely containing his laugher as he choked out, "Toy? You think you've got a toy?"

"Yes," Cloud said calmly, trying not to let his anger show in his voice, "I'm Sephiroth's toy. If you've got a problem with that, take it up with merchandising." Sephiroth was looking confused and was clutching Cloud tighter; he was getting nervous, Cloud could tell. He didn't handle people trying to tell him that Cloud wasn't a toy very well; it just confused and upset him.

Genesis burst out laughing, nearly doubled over as Angeal finally spoke. "Kid, I don't know what he's told you, but –"

"But nothing. I'm a multi-functional toy. I work as Sephiroth's personal assistant and I'm his friend and companion."

"So you're his fuck toy?" Genesis got out between gasps for air.

"Fuck... I do _not_ fuck Cloud, Genesis! He's not for sex!" Sephiroth stood up so quickly his chair slammed back against the wall. He held Cloud protectively in shaking arms.

"Oh come on, cute little thing like him? You're saying you don't like making him writhe under you?" Genesis came closer, holding out a red-gloved hand, and Cloud felt his heart speed up; he didn't like this man. Sephiroth had him out of reach before Genesis got the chance to touch him, however. "Like you used to make me writhe?"

"Genesis..." Angeal said quietly.

Sephiroth was sputtering, too upset to form his thoughts into words, so Cloud took over. "Sephiroth and I do not have sex. Any other thoughts about that can be kept to yourselves," he said icily. "Sephiroth, let's go home." He wiggled out of Sephiroth's hold and grabbed his hand firmly. They could get their coats tomorrow; it wasn't that cold. For now, Cloud wanted to get Sephiroth out of here and away from these people before he started crying and gave them more ammunition. From the look on Sephiroth's face, he had maybe fifteen seconds to get him into the privacy of the elevator.

Angeal tried to get in his way as he dragged Sephiroth to the door, but Cloud gave him his most determined look. "Get the _fuck_ out of our way. _Now_." The big man blinked at him in surprise, but backed off. He got Sephiroth in the elevator and the doors shut, then held out his arms so Sephiroth could pick him up just as the first few tears began to fall.

"Shh, it's okay," he murmured, hugging Sephiroth tightly. "It's okay. I love you. You're the best owner and best friend I could ever ask for. You make me so happy, Sephiroth. Did you know that?"

Sephiroth shook his head, trying to fight back the tears. "Y—you make me ha—happy too."

"That's good. I'm glad I make you happy. Don't worry about them, they have no idea."

"Best... best friend?"

"Yeah, you're my best friend." Cloud sat up a little as the elevator came to a halt on the ground floor, trying to hide Sephiroth's face from view.

It wasn't terribly cold, but the wind was strong and Cloud shivered when they went outside, tucking himself in close to Sephiroth's warmth. "I'm sorry," Sephiroth said, hesitating in the doorway, "I forgot your coat."

"Don't worry about it, let's just get back to the apartment. Getting out of there was more important than a coat."

"Don't be damaged." The pleading tone in Sephiroth's voice was hard to listen to.

"I won't be damaged at all. I promise. When we get home, let's change into our pyjamas and snuggle under the blankets and drink hot chocolate, okay?"

"I – I like that plan."

"We can order in Wutaian food and eat dinner in bed. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good." Sephiroth hurried across the open space to the apartment blocks and got them inside before Cloud got too cold. "Cloud?" he asked when they were safely in the elevator. "You – you won't leave me, right? Toys don't leave."

"No, they don't. Toys are good like that. I won't ever abandon you, Sephiroth. You do too good of a job taking care of me; there'll never be a reason why I'd have to leave."

"Good. That's good. I don't want to be alone again."

"I know. You won't be. Clouds are friends for life."

***

Angeal dropped his bags in his temporary quarters and collapsed on the couch. Why hadn't Zack explained the situation properly instead of just telling him to come back and pay a visit to Sephiroth? He would have _hurried_ if he had known if was important. How long had Sephiroth had that kid? Zack first told him to come back about a month ago, and surely he would have tried getting... what was his name? Cloud? Angeal snorted. That probably wasn't even his real name. Just what Sephiroth had decided to call him, no doubt. But Zack would have tried getting him away before calling for help. He just should have made it clear how urgent it was!

"But what am I supposed to do?" he asked the empty room. He supposed that if he went to Sephiroth's to get the kid out, and it came down to it, he was armed and Sephiroth apparently wasn't. He wondered briefly if he should wait for Zack to get back. He had been told that he was just on a short mission in Kalm, and would be back by tonight.

No, he decided. His honour wouldn't let him leave the kid in Sephiroth's hands any longer than he already had been. Decision made, Angeal grabbed his buster sword and headed for Sephiroth's place.

It seemed to take forever after he rang the doorbell before he heard footsteps and the lock being undone. A brief glimpse of blond spikes was all he got before the door started to slam shut. He got his foot in the way just in time, but bit back a curse when the kid's bare foot connected with his knee.

"Get out! Get the _fuck_ out! Haven't you hurt him enough for one day?"

Angeal easily shoved the door open, causing Cloud to stumble backwards. Holding out his hands in a non-threatening manner, Angeal spoke quietly. "It's all right, I'm going to get you out of here. Where's Sephiroth?"

"None of your business and I'm not going _anywhere_ ," Cloud spat out, looking at him with pure contempt. "And if you try and force me, you will _sincerely_ regret it." There was a noise from down the hall and Cloud glanced back, looking anxious. "Stay in the room, Sephiroth. I can handle this."

"You sound upset." His old friend's voice sounded hoarse.

"Please trust me, Sephiroth. I'll call you if I need help, but for now, stay in the room. Okay?"

Angeal heard a door shut and took his chance, grabbing Cloud's arm. "Let's go."

"Don't you _fucking_ touch me!" Cloud's foot connected with his knee again and he twisted out of his hold. Damn, the little brat knew where to kick to make it hurt, even without much strength behind it.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you." He got that the kid was scared, but he was trying to help.

"No, _you_ listen. You think you can abandon your friend for almost two years and then suddenly show up and start acting like you know what the fuck's going on? Zack tried to tell me that you guys weren't _all_ bad, that you still had some honour left, and I almost bought it. I know what happened to Sephiroth must have been really hard to deal with, but then you show up and fucking _laugh_ at him?"

"I –" Angeal was at a loss for words. What was he going on about? This wasn't about what happened with Sephiroth.

"Shut up. I've been wanting to say this for a long time. You and Genesis are monsters. You were his best friends and you left him without a single explanation when he needed you most. He is so fucking scared of being abandoned again that he relies on a _toy_ for companionship because toys don't fucking leave you. I may not be human, but I do a hell of a lot better job pretending than you do."

"Shit, kid, Cloud's your name? You're not a toy. He can't treat you like this." He had to ignore everything else Cloud was saying right now and focus on what was important. Did he actually believe that he was a _toy_?

"Yes, I am. And I'm a very happy toy at that. You have no fucking clue how Sephiroth treats me, so you can drop the concerned citizen's act. It's not wanted or needed. _You're_ not wanted or needed. And if you try and take me away from him, against my will, I will put up a fight like you won't believe. Just ask Lazard how big a pain in the ass I can be." The doorbell rang and Cloud glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Now get the fuck out. We've got comfort food to eat and more cuddling to do after a couple of assholes ruined our day."

Cloud began shoving at him and Angeal let himself be pushed towards the door, thoroughly confused by what had just happened. If Cloud was simply scared into submission, he put on a good act, pretending that he wasn't. He needed to talk to Zack, find out what had been going on while he was away.

***

Zack banged on Angeal's door as hard as he could and pounded on the doorbell. As soon as the door opened and Zack saw Angeal, he swung his fist as hard as he could, catching his former mentor off guard with a punch to the face.

"Sonofa—! Zack! What're you –?"

"Favour for Cloud. He didn't think he was strong enough to make it hurt. What the hell, Angeal? I asked you to come back so you could see how well Sephiroth was doing and the first thing you do is laugh at him and make him cry?"

"You – I thought you needed help! Zack, he's got some _kid_ that he's calling his toy! And you're saying he's doing _well_?"

Zack held his head in his hands, starting to figure out what had happened. Everyone around here knew about the situation with Cloud; he had just assumed it had spread to the other bases as well. Apparently not. "Let's sit down. I'll explain what's going on.

"It was... a little over three months ago. Sephiroth found Cloud in his office and mistook him for a toy because of a warnings tag for a chocobo toy that happened to fall on the floor next to him." Zack explained about how the president had decided to let Sephiroth keep Cloud, and how he had come up with the idea of making a manual. "Sephiroth takes good care of him, because if he doesn't, he knows Cloud will get taken away."

"Zack! What happened to your honour? You're saying you not only let this happen, but encouraged it?" Angeal looked furious, but Zack just shrugged it off.

"Yeah. At first I was pissed off, but my hands were tied because of the president, so I did what I could to make sure that Cloud wasn't being abused. The easiest way to do that was to go along with the toy thing. As time passed, I began to realise just how lonely Sephiroth had been, and how much help he needs with his day-to-day life. He was barely getting by, Angeal, and everyone had just left him to fend for himself."

"How bad was it?" Angeal asked hesitantly.

"Cloud reminds him to eat, to brush his teeth, to use a can opener instead of a knife. He was forgetting to _eat_ , Angeal. I had no idea until Cloud told me. So he helps him out."

"How so? He's what, fourteen? How can he be expected to take care of a mentally disabled adult?"

"Fifteen, actually. He figures out what needs to be done and he does it. A lot of the stuff is simple, and Sephiroth's gotten better at remembering to do things on his own since a lot of it he does as a part of taking care of Cloud. As for the rest, he muddles through and asks for help when he needs it. Or he yells until someone else fixes it for him." Zack grinned; he was still so proud of Cloud for that first time. "That's how he got Shin-Ra to stop stealing from Sephiroth..."

"They were stealing from him?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. They were taking money directly off his paycheque and leeching it out of his account as well. Cloud keeps track of all his financial stuff now. And he's his friend. He's improved so much since Cloud started living with him. He can carry on a conversation now, he's nowhere near as unpredictable, and he's a lot more aware of what's going on. All because of Cloud."

"Who thinks he's a toy."

"No he doesn't," Zack laughed. "But you'll never get him to admit that he's not if there's a chance Sephiroth could overhear. I could have gotten him away dozens of times by now, but he doesn't want to go. He's happy taking care of Sephiroth. He got Lazard to hire him as Sephiroth's personal assistant and he gets a salary, most of which, I believe he sends to his mother. Sephiroth provides him with everything he needs here."

"So Lazard is supporting this too?"

"Come on! Cloud works hard and he deserves to be paid. When he demanded a salary from Lazard, he told him that Shin-Ra should have hired someone from the start to help Sephiroth out, and it's true. And we were shitty friends, Angeal. We really were."

"I know I should have stayed in touch better, but..."

"You don't have to explain, I do understand. I did it too. But I think we gave up our right to protest when we left him to the wolves."

"Maybe, but... he's so young. This isn't right."

"I know it looks fucking weird from the outside, but they're not sexually involved or anything. Cloud thinks he might consider it one day, but he's not ready yet. Trust me, he's not being abused."

"You really think that?"

"Yeah, splitting them up would be devastating for both of them, so unless Cloud comes up to me one day and says he wants out, I'm not going to let anyone get between them. They're happy. Why don't we go see them tomorrow so you can see for yourself? Assuming Cloud lets you through the door. Did you really laugh at Sephiroth?"

"No," Angeal said quickly. "That was all Genesis. I'll... I'll try talking to him. And I do want to see them together; I'll apologise for both of us, if that's what it takes."

"All right, but I still owe Genesis a punch too. He's not getting out of it. I'll talk to Cloud in the morning and convince him to let us come over. If you were just trying to help him and didn't actually make fun of Sephiroth, he'll understand. It's my fault for not explaining beforehand. But I don't want to disturb them tonight. Cloud said they were planning on eating in bed and watching kid's movies; he'll be cranky if I interrupt."

"Bed?"

"Yup, they sleep in the same bed. Get over it." Zack grinned cockily at Angeal and snapped a salute before heading for the door.

***

Sephiroth looked down at Cloud, smiling fondly; he was snoring softly, snuggled up against his chest, and Sephiroth pulled the blanket further up over his shoulders. He was such a good toy. Why did people keep trying to tell him he wasn't? Who else would have spent all afternoon with him, telling him that it was all right to cry? He lost count of how many times Cloud had reassured him that he loved him, and that he wouldn't leave. No _person_ would ever do that, he was sure of it.

Cloud had stood up for him. He told Angeal to go away. Sephiroth had been worried, waiting in the bedroom while Cloud fought with Angeal. He had had no idea that Cloud was so angry with Genesis and Angeal; he never liked talking about them, but he supposed he let a lot of things slip. And he said that he'd put up a fight if anyone tried to take him away. Cloud was good at fighting and getting his way; everyone said so.

But... Sephiroth needed to stand up for himself too. He was a warrior, born to fight; surely he could do something a toy could do. Sephiroth shut the TV off and cradled Cloud in his arms. If they saw them again, he'd do it. He'd tell Genesis not to laugh at him, that he didn't need him anymore. He'd tell Angeal that he loved Cloud and would never hurt him. He could do it. No more tears over lost friends.

***

Staring at the door, waiting for the bell to ring, Sephiroth had never felt so anxious in his life. He glanced up at the wall clock; they would be here soon. Cloud said that Zack had talked to both Angeal and Genesis. He had tried to sound reassuring, Sephiroth knew that, but he could tell that Cloud wasn't happy they were coming over. And now Cloud looked just as anxious as he felt.

"Remember," Cloud said, squeezing his hand tightly, "It doesn't matter what they say. If they say something hurtful, just remember that you've got me, and nothing they say can change that."

"I'll remember." Sephiroth was determined to not let them upset him like they had yesterday. While Cloud had said it was okay to cry, he didn't want to do that in front of people who would just laugh at him for it.

The doorbell rang and Sephiroth jumped. Cloud reached up and tugged on his shoulder, so Sephiroth leaned down and Cloud quickly pressed his lips to Sephiroth's cheek. "You can do this," he whispered.

Feeling slightly awed, Sephiroth touched the spot where Cloud had kissed him and smiled. "I can." He took a deep breath and opened the door.

Zack was there, with Angeal and Genesis standing behind him. "Morning, guys," Zack said cheerfully. "Can we come in?"

Sephiroth nodded and stepped aside. "Come in." He hoped he sounded confident. He couldn't figure out the expressions on his old friends' faces; Cloud was easy, and he was getting better at reading Zack, but other people were hard.

When everyone was sitting down in the living room, Sephiroth looked around nervously. What was he supposed to do?

"Do you guys want something to drink?" Cloud asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Do you wear a little butler outfit while you serve drinks?" Genesis asked and Sephiroth bristled at the way he looked at Cloud.

"Genesis, don't," Angeal said quietly. "He's just being polite. Could I have some water, Cloud?"

"Sure. Zack?"

"Yeah, I'll have some water too. Do you need help?"

"I'm good. Sephiroth, do you want to help me?"

"Y—yes." Sephiroth followed Cloud to the kitchen, grateful for the respite, even if it was short. He was rapidly losing confidence in his ability to get through this.

"You're doing great, Sephiroth," Cloud whispered so the others couldn't hear. "Just ignore Genesis if you have to."

"He – he shouldn't say things like that to you."

"I know. We'll just get this over with and hopefully we'll never see him again. He's creepy."

"Can I hold you when we go back in?" Sephiroth asked. He was pretty sure the others would laugh at him for it, but having Cloud in his arms gave him an extra boost of confidence when it came to dealing with people.

"Of course you can." Cloud finished filling the water glasses and handed two to Sephiroth. "Ready?"

"I guess..."

The three men stopped talking amongst themselves as soon as Cloud and Sephiroth re-entered the room. Cloud set the glasses down on the table and Sephiroth followed suit.

"Sorry, my butler outfit's in the wash, so I figured you wouldn't want anything, Genesis," Cloud said as Sephiroth sat down as far from everyone else as possible. Cloud crawled into his lap and Sephiroth held him close, trying to calm his nerves.

Genesis gave a loud huff and tapped his foot impatiently. "So now what? We all congratulate you on your new _toy_ and go on our merry ways?"

"I – I don't want your approval or your congratulations," Sephiroth said, probably too softly. "I –" Sephiroth raised his voice a bit, trying to sound confident. "I want to tell you that I'm happy. Everyone thinks I'm doing well, and I think so too. If you and Angeal don't want to be my friends anymore, that's okay. I don't need you."

"But," Cloud whispered in his ear.

"But if you still want to be my friend, I'd like that."

"Sephiroth..." Angeal started, but Genesis interrupted.

"Is that what your _toy_ told you? You don't need me anymore? Who saved your life back in Nibelheim? Who killed Hojo to get you out of there? Do you have any idea how much trouble I got in for that? You think some cadet you found and kept –"

"Genesis!" Zack snapped.

"You think your _toy_ would do that?"

"You _left_!" Sephiroth shouted, angry now. "You said I didn't need Jenova! That I had you guys! And then when we killed her like we decided, you _left_ me! You never visited me _once_ in the hospital! We checked the records..." Sephiroth trailed off, all he could remember from the hospital was the crushing loneliness. Mother was gone, his friends were gone... he had been so alone.

"We were really busy, Sephiroth. Without you –" Angeal tried to explain.

"He was in the hospital for _six months_ ," Cloud said coldly. "You couldn't find time _once_ to go visit him? Zack managed and he was nowhere near as close to Sephiroth as you guys were."

"This is bullshit," Genesis said suddenly, standing up. "I'm not going to let some little shit try and guilt trip me. You have no idea what it was like, what _he_ was like."

"Neither do you!" Zack shouted. "You just listened to what the doctors said and never even tried to see for yourself."

"Genesis," Sephiroth said, "You should just go. Please." It hurt to say it, but he was sure that Genesis didn't want to be his friend. It would be best if he went. He felt Cloud's arms tighten around him; it would be okay.

"Fine," Genesis spat out. "Have fun with your toy. Just know that you'll never replace me."

The door slammed with an air of finality and Sephiroth hid his face in Cloud's hair for a few moments. He wasn't going to cry.

"Do you want us to go too, Sephiroth?" Zack asked quietly. "We can come back later, if you want."

Sephiroth shook his head. "I'm okay."

"Just give him a minute," Cloud said, stroking his hair soothingly.

"No problem. So how does it feel to know you made a SOLDIER commander jealous, Cloud?"

Cloud didn't say anything, but Sephiroth felt him shake his head. After a long silence, he finally raised his head. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. They must have been uncomfortable, waiting for so long.

"It's okay, Sephiroth. They understand." Cloud gave him another hug and poked at the corner of his mouth, pushing it up. "Smile."

Sephiroth couldn't help but grin at the gesture. Cloud could always cheer him up.

"You really do want to be with him, don't you, kid?" Angeal asked quietly.

"Yeah, I really do. Can you deal with that?"

"I think I can. Sorry for not listening to you earlier."

"It's okay. I get why you were worried. I'm so realistic that people mistake me for a person a lot."

"And... I'm sorry, Sephiroth, for the way I treated you. I can make excuses, but they're all pretty terrible, so... sorry. Just, sorry."

Sephiroth blinked in surprise. Angeal was sorry? Did that mean he still wanted to be friends? It would have been enough if he had just stopped trying to take Cloud away; that was all he had been hoping for. "I – I – you –" Sephiroth wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now and his voice was going all funny like Cloud's used to.

"Do you want to forgive him?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth nodded. He really did. He just...

"Then say, 'I forgive you'. That's all it takes."

"I – I forgive you."

"Thank you, Sephiroth. That means a lot. It'll be tough with me stationed in Fort Condor, but I'll keep in touch. And I'll try to come visit more often."

Sephiroth nodded. "Cloud will remind me to keep in touch with you too."

Angeal smiled at Cloud. "Thanks, kid. You keep him on track."

"I've got it covered."

"Well, I guess we should get out of your hair, then."

Sephiroth nodded, he was tired; this whole thing had been too stressful.

"Let's all go grab dinner sometime before you have to go, Angeal," Cloud said. "You guys should catch up."

"Sounds like a plan, Spiky."

Sephiroth grinned as Zack ruffled Cloud's hair and led Angeal to the door. Dinner with his friends would be nice.

As soon as they were gone, Cloud turned to him. "Sephiroth, I'm so proud of you."

"Me too. I didn't think I could do it."

"I did. You're better at this stuff than you realise, and you're only getting better. Want ice cream to celebrate? We've got chocolate syrup and sprinkles."

Sephiroth laughed, scooping Cloud up and hugging him tightly. He was glad he had fixed things with Angeal, but Cloud was still his favourite. He would always be his favourite. "Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For being my toy. You... thank you."

Cloud looked up at him and smiled gently. "You're welcome."

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or not. Stay tuned for the sequel that doesn't have a name yet. It'll be out... probably sooner, rather than later. I have a sneaking suspicion I'll finish it before I get back to work of Prisoners of War.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! See you when I get home!


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